Ubuntu Nexus 7 Installer App Released to Devs

Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is, as Mark Shuttleworth revealed last week, to be Ubuntu’s ‘reference’ device on which the ‘core’ of Ubuntu will be tweaked.

By ‘viewing Ubuntu through a mobile lens’ developers will be able to address CPU, RAM and power usage issues, making them better. The net result is that all devices running Ubuntu – tablet, desktop or other, will benefit.

To aid developers in getting Ubuntu up and running on the Nexus 7 a special tool has been made – the ‘Ubuntu Nexus 7 Installer‘.

The tool provides ‘a desktop one-click solution for installing Ubuntu on your Nexus 7’, offering a GUI through which the latest Ubuntu test image is downloaded and flashed onto the Nexus 7.

Before the installer can be used the Nexus 7 boot-loader has to be unlocked. Doing this will wipe all data, so do be careful if you’re planning on attempting the hack already, and do pay attention to the known issues, currently listed here..

All (current) models of the Nexus 7 tablet work (so 8GB owners, you’re not left out).

Full details, including on how to unlock the bootloader and install the Ubuntu Nexus7 Installer app, can be found behind the link below.